Viral wedding invitation tells guests: “Breastfeed in the toilets!”

Babies and weddings, huh? Or more specifically, notes about them on wedding invitations…

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Usually, it’s them being banned altogether, or wording about taking them out of the ceremony if they cry.

But the latest wedding invite currently doing the rounds is a totally new take on the whole nippers and nuptials theme… it says ‘babies are welcome, but they must be fed in the toilets’.

🙄🙄🙄

The story was shared on the Breastfeeding Mama Talk Facebook page, with the invitee mum asking for advice on how to handle being told she must go somewhere ‘private’ if she needed to feed at the wedding – private being the venue’s loos.

The invite stated that ‘for your convenience we are accommodating you with a comfortable and private area with chairs and baby blankets in the ladies room. We request that you use this area when you are breastfeeding. Thank you’.

And naturally, it didn’t go down well…

The mum’s Facebook post in full

“This was in the invitation to my husband’s best friends wedding. My husband is the best man so it will just be me in the crowd.

“We have had several arguments over “my” breastfeeding ways and they have multiple times voiced that I need to go elsewhere to do that in “private!” I was going to just be nice and let my best girl friend watch my two kids (ages 2 and 3 months) and she would wet nurse my youngest (she’s still nursing her 2 year old as well) because we haven’t found a bottle my youngest will take yet and wet nursing doesn’t bother me.

“Hubby and I were just gonna make it a date night… But apparently that wasn’t okay either. so I said would just bring my littlest baby to the wedding then, but no way in hell I will leave and nurse her in the bathroom (no matter how “nice” they make it!)

“I don’t eat in the bathroom I’m not feeding my child in there!… I want to be “nice” as possible but what should I do!? Go ahead and leave her with my friend (who by the way has nursed her multiple times) or take her!? Help!”

What happened next

This mum was unanimously supported (to be fair, she was on a pro-breastfeeding forum) – and the above pic of the bathroom facility was doctored with a caption making it clear that toilets are NOT the place to eat.

The page owner later updated the post and said that the mum concerned had in the end decided to attend the wedding without her little ones in tow, leaving them with a pal and a grandparent.

But it’s definitely a very emotive subject, right?

On the one hand, we can totally get that no nursing mum wants to be ordered in to the loos to feed her baby.

On the other, we maybe think that the bride was trying to be nice and accomodating, but instead totally missed the mark. (‘Our family and friends’ is purposefully italicised, though 🤔)

Have your say

So, what do you think about this particular scenario? Let us know in comments or on Facebook.